


made to become a sanctuary

by popsicletheduck



Series: a garden in detroit [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Companion Piece, Disabled Character, F/M, Friendship, Nonbinary Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-16 03:03:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16077014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popsicletheduck/pseuds/popsicletheduck
Summary: Emma Ibori was an interesting human being. Ask her about her friends, and she'd give some tight lipped response about liking solitude.Her best friend Ryker didn't quite understand, but then again, humans were a strange sort.





	1. while it lasted

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sort of retcon companion piece to aerithari's "the silver lining still remains". You don't have to have read that for this first introductory chapter to make sense, but it might help. And after the first chapter you're definitely going to need to. Also just go read it anyway because it's great.  
> Emma Ibori belongs to aerithari, Messi/Melissa belongs to @thenervousmedic on tumblr, and Chase belongs to @caitlynmellark on tumblr.  
> Title comes from the song "Six" by Sleeping At Last.  
> There's also a discord for this ongoing series! Come join us, it's fun and chill, I promise. https://discord.gg/k4E53rc

“Emma. Emma. Emma!” Finally, the third time Ryker calls her name, she looks up from where she’s currently bent over, fixing a loose board on the ramp she had built for their front steps.

“Hmm? Were you saying something?”

Ryker rolls their eyes. rA9 save her. “The sun’s setting, if you didn’t notice. Come inside before you freeze or smack yourself in the face with a hammer in the dark.”

“I’m fine. Besides, I’m almost finished.”

With a flicker of frustration Ryker swings their way down the ramp, their crutches thudding softly against its wooden surface.

“Emma. You’re not allowed to work yourself to death, remember?”

To say that Emma Ibori was dedicated to her work was possibly an understatement. But while Ryker may be just a WR600 gardener model, even they could see the growing shadow under her eyes, the tightness in her shoulders, the distance in her gaze. She’d been running herself ragged recently, taking on more and more jobs, working in the theatre in whatever spare time she had, filling in for the drastically understaffed counseling division of the Detroit Volunteer Corp despite being there as a carpenter. It wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t okay, but Ryker didn’t know what to do, besides trying to gently bully her into taking perhaps marginally better care of herself whenever she showed up at their house for a repair job or just to visit on those rare afternoons they could convince her to take a break.

“I’m fine.”

Ryker raises an eyebrow at her. “That is a bigger load of crap than the last bag of fertilizer I bought.”

Emma finally sits back on her heels at that, opening her mouth to retort. Ryker doesn’t let her.

“Besides, Messi and Chase are waiting inside with the movie. You’re not going to make them wait any longer, are you?”

It’s a bit of a cheap shot to bring in Ryker’s two housemates who Emma had developed some sort of motherly bond with, but if it worked it worked. Ryker wasn’t about to sweat the details.

“Alright, alright, fine. I’m coming.” With a huff she starts throwing tools back into her bag. Ryker waits for her, half convinced that if they go inside now she’ll just go back to working.

Finally she stands up, stretching the kinks out of her back and tossing her curly mass of a ponytail back over her shoulder.

“It’s not finished, though, so I’ll have to come back in a day or so.”

“Oh no, whatever will I do being forced to see you again,” Ryker deadpans.

She smacks them on the shoulder as she draws closer. “You know I don’t remember you being quite this much of a little shit when I first met you.”

“That’s because I was scared of you when I first met you.” After humans attacked them during the android revolution, destroying one of their legs and killing their friend, it would’ve been more surprising if they had welcomed her with open arms. 

But things were better now. Emma was a friend. A good friend, maybe even a best friend. Ryker still wasn’t exactly certain what that meant, but it seemed to apply to her.

They smile at her a bit as she holds the door open for them, stepping inside and heading straight for their tiny kitchen. The microwaves hums gently as they put the popcorn in to pop, one of two functioning appliances. The people who lived in the house were all androids, they didn’t exactly need a kitchen. Ryker mostly used it for storing gardening supplies. The microwave and mini fridge were more recent additions for movie snacks and the occasional beer for Emma when she came to visit. 

“Miss Emma!” Messi chirps happily from the sofa, wiggling a bit. “Sit, sit, sit! Time for movie, yes. Messi glad you here.”

“Finally, Ibori. Thought we were going to have to wait all night.” But Chase does shift over a bit to make room for her.

She flops down next to the two of them, a couch full of Ryker’s favorite people, and something soft and warm stirs in their chest at the sight.

Happiness. It’s a nice feeling.

The microwave beeps, the popcorn finished, and Ryker slides it across the counter to Emma before making their way over to join the rest of them. She’d be off again as soon as the movie was done, but for the moment, everything was nice. They were going to enjoy it while it lasted.


	2. late night snowfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during chapter 3, "of fragile dreams" of "the silver lining still remains" by witchfall.

The night is quiet and still, a few stray showers of snow outside the window. Winter’s grasp was quickly taking over autumn’s embrace, and Ryker can practically feel their own programs slowing alongside of it. They’d never been needed over winter the same way as during the rest of the year. Sure, things were different now, but…

They lean their head back against the arm of the couch where they’d already retired for the evening, having long ago given up the single bed in the house to Chase and Messi. Their gaze comes to rest on the ceiling. At least it wouldn’t leak this winter, Emma had patched and filled and shingled until finally she was content. It was the reason she had stuck around after they first met, lingering long enough for Ryker began to trust her, for her to begin to confide in them. Such a strange thing, to bring two people together…

_ Incoming Call: Unknown Number _

The sudden phone call interrupts their reminiscing. Who could possibly be calling at 11:24 at night, and a stranger at that?

They accept the call out of pure curiosity.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Ryker.”

At Emma’s voice they immediately scramble upright. She sounds on edge and worn out, a quietness and a tremble to her voice they’ve never heard before.

“Emma? Are you okay, what happened? Why are you calling from a random phone?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, mine got… broken. I borrowed Hank’s.”

“Hank?” Ryker runs through a pitifully short mental list of Emma’s friends and colleagues. “Hank Anderson? Connor’s dad?”

“Yeah, I ended up at his house for the night… look, it’s not important.”

“You’re at Connor’s house?” they asked, unable to keep the blatant surprise from their voice. Well then.

It had been beyond obvious to them for months now that scrappy, emotionally stunted Emma had a thing for the handsome, sleek ex-deviant hunter turned cop, even if she refused to admit it. She’d invited him to dinner, for rA9’s sake. But this was certainly moving faster than they’d expected.

“Ryker!” They don’t think they’ve ever heard her sound so scandalized. “Not like that, okay?”

“If you insist.”

There’s a beat of silence, Ryker slowly tracing a finger over one of the stylized leaves in the couch’s floral pattern. Despite their teasing, Emma had called for a reason, and it didn’t sound like a good one.

“What,” she finally says, taking a deep breath, “what have you been doing today?”

Ryker grabs a nearby cushion, squeezing it tightly before letting their fingers relax. It’s a habit from spending a lot of time on crutches, but it works to help center them.

“Emma, if you just need a distraction, I will gladly provide one, but I thought we both agreed to try to stop saying that we’re fine when we’re really not.”

She goes quiet at this, a long moment passing before she speaks again.

"I can't say much about it because the police are involved. Some… androids chased me. But they, uh, failed. So. There's that."

Unfortunately, her explanation raises more questions than it answers. It did explain why she was at the lieutenant’s house, but why would androids be chasing her? Emma was a sweetheart under her hardened outer shell. And why was this big enough to get the police involved? There was a whole truckload more she wasn’t saying, but Ryker isn’t about to press if the police are involved and possibly get her into trouble.

“Are you safe and unhurt?”

“Uh, mostly.” Not the answer they were hoping for, but better than nothing.

“Do you need anything, is there anything I can do?”

“Just a distraction. Please.”

“Well, I was planting the last of the bulbs today to get them in before the first solid freeze. It should be any day now. But they’re all tucked in cozy for a winter’s nap so they can bloom big and beautiful in the spring.”

Ryker talks for awhile, explaining their plans for their garden that they’ve already set into motion, sharing some of the comings and goings of their housemates, and relating a few of Chase’s more interesting customer service stories. He’d found a job working at one of the few reopening department stores in Detroit, and while androids remembered all too well what it was to be working overlooked jobs and therefore treated just about everyone with respect, it didn’t mean that weird stuff didn’t happen on occasion. Emma doesn’t say much beyond a few comments to make it clear she’s still paying attention, but it’s not a bad conversation, even if it is a little one sided.

It’s not until after they finish the story about the time that Chase stomped home in a near rage after a lengthy discussion about the morality of cashmere sweaters that Emma finally cuts them off.

“Alright, it’s getting pretty late, I won’t keep you up any longer.”

“You know that I don’t need as much rest as you do.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be by in the next day or so to finish the ramp repair.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for you, then. And Emma?”

“Hm?”

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I mean it, Emma.”

“Of course. Talk to you soon.”

“Good night.”

The call cuts off with a click, leaving Ryker once again staring at the ceiling, pondering the nature of roof repairs and the stubborn women who did them.


	3. of questionable legality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during chapter 6, "of a thousand moments" of _the silver lining still remains_  
>  Once again, Chase belongs to @caitlynmellark on tumblr and Melissa belongs to @thenervousmedic, both of whom generously beta'd this chapter to ensure their characters were in character.

A day passes. No visit from Emma. Ryker isn’t surprised, she’s got a tendency to get caught up in her work and forget things.

Two days go by. Still nothing. It’s not unheard of, of course, but a worm of anxiety starts crawling through their abdomen. 

An entire week without so much as a text message and Ryker can’t brush off the feeling anymore. Something potentially terrible has happened to one of their three favorite people on the planet, and after several attempted calls reveal that her number seems to have been permanently disconnected, there’s nothing for it but a in-person investigation.

It’s early evening by the time they set out, having to wait for Chase to get home from work. Both he and Messi had insisted on coming, despite Ryker trying to persuade them to stay home. The sky is stained in shades of red and gold by the setting sun, and a chill wind tugs at coats and skirt hems as the three of them make their way through the city streets.

Emma lived in an apartment not terribly far from them, and while they’d never been inside they had walked her home a few times, especially after they got their wheelchair and Emma stopped berating them every time they went out on crutches. They’d only once got any major fracturing in their arms from doing that, but even they had to admit the chair made long distances easier.

Unfortunately, Emma also lived on the third story, and that was quite a lot of stairs.

Chase gives them a look when they all arrive. “Well I suppose you stay here and we’ll go see why Ibori’s being so rude.”

“Screw that,” Ryker responds, pulling out their crutches from the holster on the back of their chair and leveraging themselves up. “I’m coming with you.”

Messi hovers, hands twisting anxiously in her oversized hoodie. “Many stairs, yes. Hard with one leg. Dangerous.”

“Yeah, but not impossible, and I’m not just going to wait here.”

Chase’s LED spins briefly yellow, his mouth setting into a hard line, but he doesn’t argue anymore. Retail has taught him to keep his salt on the inside.

Ryker isn’t entirely unused to stairs, after all. They had briefly lived in a second story apartment before the climb had become too much and they had been relocated to their current single story house. But stairs and crutches were never a fun combo. Messi and Chase stick close by, Messi at their side and Chase behind, as they slowly and laboriously pull themselves up every individual step. By the time they reach the third story they’re grumbling under their breath about dumb and ungrateful human friends who can’t even be bothered to send one measly text to let their very patient and very understanding android buddy know they’re not dead.

Chase knocks politely but firmly on the door. Ryker nudges him a bit out of the way to hammer on it with a crutch.

“Emma!” they call. “You better be at home and not working yourself to death!”

_ Or just dead, _ the darker part of their mind tacks on.

No response.

“Ibori!”

Nothing.

“Alright, well maybe she’s just not home, out working late or something,” Ryker says, hoping that if they say it outloud they can convince themselves too.

Chase’s LED is spinning yellow again, a slight crease between his eyebrows. “Typical Ibori. Always making things more complicated than they need to be.”

Ryker wracks their memory once more, trying to think of any other way to contact Emma. They could try stopping by the theatre, she could be working there again. She stubbornly insisted that she didn’t have friends, despite their existence proving otherwise, so there isn’t anyone else they could call. There was the DVC, but surely that was an overreaction, calling her work… They had Lieutenant Anderson’s number too, since she called from his phone, and she had said she had got caught up in police business, maybe he would know? She couldn’t have gotten arrested without telling them, right?

“Messi?”

They’re pulled out of their thoughts by Chase’s confused question, only then realizing that the little medical android is crouched down by the door knob, fiddling with…

“Are you picking the lock?” they ask, shock heavy in their voice.

“Miss Emma could be hurt. In trouble, yes. Messi and Chase and Ryker go see,” she informs them very matter of factly.

“Why do you know how to pick a lock?” Chase asks.

“And where did you even get lock picks from?” they add on.

Messi doesn’t answer either of them. And after another moment or so the doorknob turns with a solid click. She looks back over her shoulder, her one working eye wide, her face open and honest and desperate for confirmation that she did good.

“Nice work,” Ryker tells her, relieved to see a smile curl across her face even if they’re perhaps a little concerned about the legality of what she just did. They’re just trying to check on a friend, though, right? Surely this is okay.

She nudges the door open and slips inside, Ryker following with Chase take up the rear, closing the door behind him.

It’s a small apartment, simultaneously well worn and unlived in, secondhand furniture and mostly bare walls. Ryker’s scan immediately picks up the mostly dead plant resting on a nearby set of shelves.

_ Scindapsus aureus, Golden Pothos aka Devil’s Ivy _

_ Suffering from under watering, lack of nutrients, and self strangulation. Critical care needed. _

A frown twists across their face. They’d given her that ivy as a gift, along with specific instructions for its care. And here she was very much not taking proper care of it. They pick it up from its resting spot, settling it carefully in their small backpack. Well if she couldn’t be bothered to raise it right, she didn’t deserve it.

“Are you really stealing Ibori’s plants right now,” Chase asks deadpan.

“Is it stealing if I gave it to her in the first place?”

“Yes.”

Messi pokes her head out of the bedroom, shifting and uncertain. “Clothes missing. Drawers all left open, yes.”

“So she left,” Chase says.

“And in a hurry, too…” Ryker adds. They wrinkle their nose in frustration. It feels like all the pieces are in front of them, but they can’t see to add them together in a way that made any sense.

They scan the room again, looking for some clue they overlooked the first time. Photos and pieces of memorabilia from her past, abandoned dishes and take out boxes, laundry and piles of shoes by the door-   
A flash of something moving outside the window catches their attention. Stepping forward to get a better look, they feel dread settle lead heavy and constricting in their abdomen as they recognize the machine circling outside the window.

“We need to go,  _ now, _ ” they tell the others, already moving towards the door.

Chase raises an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we try to figure out more?”

“There’s a police drone outside.” 

Determination settles across his face as Chase nudges Messi in Ryker’s direction. “You two go, I’ll deal with it and meet up with you.”

“No!” Ryker snags him by the arm. “We’re on the third story, you’ll hurt yourself jumping out the window and it won’t do us any good, it’s definitely already seen us.”

“No leave Chase,” Messi says, reaching for his hand.

“Fine, fine, I’ll come.”

Ryker wants to hurry, fear edging them on faster and faster, but they can only take the stairs so fast, warning messages about microfractures already flashing red in the corners of their vision. They nearly stumble and fall, saved only by Messi reaching out to steady them at the last minute.

“Ryker careful,” she warns, a spark of red LED flickering through her mass of dark hair.

“You two would be faster if you didn’t have to wait for me,” they murmur, low and under their breath. “Get out of here, I’ll deal with the police.”

She frowns. “No leave Chase, no leave Ryker. Already promised.”

Chase snags the back of their coat. “Don’t be stupid, Ryker.”

There’s nothing to do but keep going.

The streets they had previously walked, once lit in rosy gold, are now dark with the gathering night, shadows lurking around every corner. Fear sparks white hot through Ryker’s systems as they push themselves with all the strength they can muster. And it doesn’t stop even once their home, shuffling Chase and Messi off to bed as a vice settles around their chest.

Something terrible had happened to Emma and it seemed like they’d dragged the rest of them into it too.


End file.
